


The Brain of the Ghostbusters

by WayWardWonderer



Category: Ghostbusters (Movies 1984-1989), The Real Ghostbusters
Genre: Gen, Hospital, Hurt, Poison, dying, ill, injured, radiation, sick, toxic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 10:03:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13097784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WayWardWonderer/pseuds/WayWardWonderer
Summary: A bust at an abandoned laboratory exposed the Ghostbusters to dangerous toxins Egon becomes sick. Peter, Ray and Winston patiently await their friend's recovery while hoping to find the cause of his illness before it's too late. Without the brain the body dies, in this case the Ghostbusters team would be incomplete.





	The Brain of the Ghostbusters

It was late in the evening when the Ghostbusters had gotten a call to an abandoned research laboratory on the outskirts of town. A pair of mischievous and toxic poltergeists were stirring up trouble for the construction crew hired on to renovate the building and had called in the Ghostbusters after the duo had gotten ahold of various caustic chemicals and began using them as projectiles to ward off the human trespassers.

"Man, we better get hazard pay for this." Dr. Peter Venkman grumbled as he awkwardly slipped a radiation resistant layer over his jumpsuit.

"You're the one who approves the payroll Venkman." Dr. Egon Spengler reminded his colleague as he too donned the protective second layer and placed a special radiation resistant plastic visor over his face and eyes . "The only one who can deny the pay raise is yourself."

"I love being self-employed." Peter glowed playfully while Egon help him slip on his proton pack. "Remind me to give myself a raise as well. I think I've really earned it!" Peter slipped down his own visor and flashed his trademarked cheesy grin.

Dr. Ray Stantz had powered up the Geiger counter and began scanning the air. "A lot of toxins in the air boys. We're going to need to go through decontamination before the night is over." His own visor was already down protecting his face.

Winston Zeddemore slammed the rear of Ecto-1 shut after pulling the traps from the back. "Great. And if I recall from the little handbook I was given during my first week at the firehouse this also requires daily blood tests for the rest of the week until Egon gives us the all clear."

"Standard procedure." Egon stated firmly as Peter returned the favor and helped him with a pack of his own. "It's either I run blood tests at the firehouse or we willingly submit to quarantine at the hospital for an undetermined amount of time."

Winston only had to think about the two options for a single second before deciding on the less of the two evils. "You know, blood tests don't seem so bad right now." Pulling his visor down the four Ghostbusters were now prepared to deal with the radioactive entities lurking inside.

"You're not sticking _me_ with a needle." Peter defied stubbornly as he motioned for Winston to turn around so he could help him with the third pack.

"Would you prefer Ray?" Egon inquired sarcastically. "He's been wanted to practice his emergency medical training on a willing volunteer."

Peter gave Egon a somewhat disgusted glance. "What? Couldn't he get Peck to sit still while he poked him with needles?"

Despite his best effort Egon couldn't hide his amusement at the idea of Peck being subjected to being stuck with needles by an unsteady hand. A slight grin came across his face for only a few seconds before he regained his professional demeanor.

"Everyone ready?" Ray asked he checked his radiation resistant layer for any imperfections. "The sooner we get rid of the ghosts the sooner we can get away from this radioactive hot zone."

"Lead the way." Peter insisted as Winston helped Ray slip the fourth pack onto his back. "You and Egon are all about weird frequencies and energy levels. Knock yourself out!"

"Gee, thanks." Ray checked his proton pack before double checking the read out on the Geiger counter. "I get the feeling we're going to be dealing with a Class-5 free roaming apparition with a secondary vaporous emission of toxins."

"Which means... what? Exactly?" Peter asked as he followed Ray toward the front of the lab.

"Don't breath the fumes."

"Got it. Use everyday common sense."

Winston and Egon followed their colleagues with their PKE meters powered up and scanning the building. There were two disturbances that both meters detected and isolated the disturbances in the same location of the building.

"One and done." Winston announced as he turned off his meter and clipped it to his belt.

"Hm." Egon was honing in on the disturbance. "The two ghosts are remaining in close proximity to one another. There must be a very abundant source of enticing energy in this indicated area that has drawn the two together."

"How romantic..." Peter quipped sarcastically.

"Then let's split up into teams of two and catch them separately." Winston suggested as the group set foot inside the dimly lit, dirty and heavily damaged laboratory. "We can catch them twice as fast and don't have to worry about one speaking up on us or escaping."

"Good plan." Ray agreed as he looked down the foreboding and dark hallway of the lab that leads into the depths of the abandoned structure. "I'll go with Venkman and-"

"You're _not_ sticking me with a needle!" Peter interrupted firmly.

"...and isolate one of the ghosts." Ray finished in a slightly offended tone as he turned off the Geiger counter and clipped it onto his belt.

Winston and Egon just silently paired off and followed the signal down to the largest room of the lab. The room was lined with massive metal vats and enormous pipes stretching from the interior of the vats into the concrete floor. The vats in general were rusted at the valves and were empty of any chemicals or other hazardous waste. A fine layer of rust covered the metallic surfaces of the vats and pipes due to prolonged negligence, making the room smell like iron, mold and dust.

"The signal is coming from the corner of the room." Egon motioned to the area with the PKE meter. "But I'm unable to see anything."

"Doesn't mean they aren't here." Peter decided as he unsheathed his thrower and powered it up. Instinctively he aimed the thrower at the corner Egon had indicated and kept his eyes wide open for any sign of movement or paranormal figures lurking about in the darkness.

Ray took a few steps to the right with Peter following close behind. Taking his own thrower from its sheath Ray also powered up and eyed the corner suspiciously. Egon moved to the left with his PKE meter still in hand and with Winston keeping a firm grip on his own thrower to watch Egon's back.

The meter began to screech as Egon moved closer to the corner. "Get ready..."

From the shadows collected on the floor in the corner of the room a large humanoid figure bathed in a translucent green emerged with an angry snarl. Behind it a similar figure bathed in translucent yellow burst from the floor and unleashed a deep bellow that accompanied the snarl in a chorus of ethereal rage.

"We got the green one!" Winston yelled as he opened fire and wrangled the green figure in the proton stream.

"Yellow boy is mine!" Peter sneered as he and Ray aimed their throwers in unison and lassoed the enraged entity with their twin beams.

Egon turned off the PKE meter and clipped it to his belt before he joined Winston and fired his own proton stream. The two teams wisely pulled the ghosts into opposite sides of the room to ensure that the duo couldn't combine their power into a single incredible powerful entity. Ray carried one trap on his belt and Egon carried the second.

"Ready?" Ray asked as he took the trap from his belt and dropped it on the floor. Pushing the trap out with his boot the trap slid out and stopped a few inches below the ghost.

"Ready!" Peter planted his feet firm on the floor. "Go!"

Ray stomped down on the release trigger from the trap and turned his gaze away from the bright ionized light the erupted from the now opened trap. The yellow ghost screeched like an angry bird of prey as the light enveloped its being in an inescapable beam of ionized energy.

"One down!" Ray called out as the ghost was steadily dragged down into the trap, unable to break free of the proton streams or trap.

As Egon made a move for the trap on his belt the green ghost unleashed a pulse of energy that sent both Egon and Winston flying backward across the room. The two men collided with the wall and the metal vats with a painfully loud impact before falling straight down to the concrete floor with no control over their own bodies.

"Egon!" Peter called out as he watched his friends smack into the wall. "Winston! You two alright?"

"...Fine." Winston muttered as he pushed himself up from his back with one hand, his other hand resting on the back of his sore head. "Nothing we can't handle."

Egon was laying on his side with his glasses resting over his face in crooked fashion beneath his protective visor. "Don't let the ghost escape!" Adjusting his glasses with one hand he rolled from his side onto his knees and stood up slowly. Egon struck the vat entirely with his right side. The neglected vat had a rusted surface that produced an abrasive surface that had cut into the protective outer layer atop his jumpsuit. A cut the physicist hadn't noticed as he made a second move for the trap on his belt. "Use the trap, quickly!" A piece of contaminated metal hooked into the radiation layer and fell down inside the fabric, resting between the radiation layer and Egon's jumpsuit.

Winston took the trap from Egon and slid it out across the floor just as Ray stomped down on the release trigger of the first trap and captured the yellow ghost inside.

"Got him!" Peter turned his attention to the green ghost and managed to catch it in his proton stream before it had the chance to slip back into the shadows.

"I'm with you!" Ray joined Peter with his proton stream.

Winston got back to his feet and aimed his thrower. "You're not going anywhere!"

As the three proton streams wrangled the ghost over the trap Egon hovered his boot over the release trigger for the trap and smashed the button down. "Trap open!"

"Lower it down!" Ray commanded as he and two colleagues worked in perfect synchronization to pulled the flailing, struggling ghost down and into the opened trap.

"Almost got it..." Egon patiently waited for the ghost to become ensnared in the ionized light of the trap before pressing the trigger for the second time to seal the trap shut. "Now! Shut off your streams!"

The three proton streams ceased as the trap doors snapped shut and the green ghost was sealed inside. The two traps containing the two ghosts wisped with a thin white smoke as the red lights flashed on the trap's surface.

Ray powered up the Geiger counter and scanned the room. "The radiation has been reduced to near safe levels. But don't remove your radiation layer until AFTER we get the ghosts into the containment unit." He scanned the traps and the radiation being emitted by the two ghosts was still present. "And we'll have to decontaminate the traps and Ecto-1 after we get back."

Peter took a step back from the smoldering traps and pressed his index finger to the side of his nose. "Not it!"

Ray ignored the comment and picked up one trap by its cable and held it out at arm's length. "Good thing we have the lead-lined case in the back."

Egon picked up the second trap and carried by its cable as well. "It'd be best to get the ghosts inside the containment unit sooner rather than later. The amount of radiation that saturates the trap is already quite substantial, and it'll take longer to properly decontaminate later on."

"Right." Winston powered off his proton pack and sheathed the thrower. "Let's get going."

"I'll drive!" Peter wanted nothing to do with the radiation of the traps or the building and was ready to leave.

Walking at a brisk pace Peter took the lead and retraced their steps back to the entrance of the building. Winston followed behind Peter but didn't walk as quickly. Ray and Egon walked side by side with the traps still being held out at arm's length.

"Come on, let's get going." Peter urged as he dropped his proton pack beside the vehicle and sat behind the steering wheel of Ecto-1. "I don't want to wake up to find a tumor growing out of my back!"

Winston opened the rear of Ecto-1 and pulled the lead-lined case from its storage compartment tucked away beside the storage rack that holds the proton packs. Being the professional that he is Winston loaded Peter's pack into the storage rack and then his own. "Case is opened."

Ray and Egon tucked the two traps inside the protected case and slammed the lid shut.

Winston took the remaining two packs and placed them on the storage rack next to the previous two. Securing the rack, the case and checking the cables to ensure everything was charging and that the straps we pulled taut, Winston slammed the rear door of the car shut. "We're good back here."

As Winston took his place in the front seat of Ecto-1 next to Peter the two scientists who were not afraid of the radiation took their seats in the back. Egon was rubbing at his sore side but didn't feel the torn fabric of radiation layer. It didn't help that his fingertips were a little numb.

Ray himself was more interested in the collected data on the PKE meter and Geiger counter than he was his colleagues at the moment.

With lights and the siren blaring Ecto-1 raced through the city and back to the relative safety of the firehouse to properly dispose of the radioactive ghosts. Parking the hearse in the middle of the garage Peter hastily turned off the engine and climbed out of the vehicle and backed away from hearse as if it were on fire.

"I call dibs on the shower!"

"Relax Peter." Ray casually climbed out of the back of the hearse without the slightest bit of fear on his face. "As soon as the ghosts are sealed into the containment unit AND the car is decontaminated you can take as many showers as you like."

Peter stayed away from the car and watched as Egon and Winston also exited the hearse. Egon joined Ray at the back of Ecto-1 and opened the lead case to retrieve the occupied traps.

"We need to get the ghosts stored." Egon reiterated as he walked toward the basement with Ray at his side. "Decontamination can proceed immediately."

"I'll assist Winston is taking care of Ecto-1." Ray decided as he and Egon entered the basement together. "It'll be easier with two people working on the car instead of one. We both know that Peter won't go near the car until it's clean."

"Agreed." Egon took the trap from Ray's hand and motioned for him to return to the garage. "I can handle things down here."

"Right." Ray unclipped his Geiger counter from his belt and left it on the workbench next to to the containment unit. "Call if you need help!"

Egon set the first trap in the deposit slot of the containment unit and set the entry grid. Within seconds the ghost had been transferred from the trap and into the protective prison of the containment unit. Removing the emptied trap Egon ran the Geiger counter over it.

"Minimal trace amounts of radiation, as expected."

Repeating the process with the second trap Egon scanned again and checked the radiation level. The trap was also resonating with minimal radiation, but there was a second source of radiation being detected.

"That's unusual." Egon commented as he struggled to trace the source of the additional radiation. Checking over the traps and the PKE meter without identifying the source he then ran the scanner over himself. The device clicked loudly and the needle settled on a dangerously high number on the display.

There was a very hot reading coming from Egon's person.

His eyes widened with fear as he continued to scan his own body. Slipping off his glove Egon scanned his hand and his skin was emitting a high level of radiation.

"Impossible." Egon observed as he slipped off his second glove and began pulling at the second radiation resistant layer he was wearing over his jumpsuit. "The radiation layer should have provided more than enough-" As Egon pulled on the layer he found the tear along the seam at his side. "The suit had been compromised." Reaching up he pulled the visor from his face and dropped it on the workbench. "As have I."

* * *

Ray and Winston were kneeling in the back of Ecto-1 with the properly decontamination material at the ready. Removing each item from the back the two men planned on scrubbing every centimeter of the vehicle to remove any and all traces of radiation. Peter watched from the wall nervously, not want to get too close.

"Hey Venkman?" Ray called to his standoffish colleague. "Could you take the proton packs down to the basement to charge? Don't worry, they're clean!"

Eager to get away from any source of radiation Peter was happy to take the proton packs down to charge up for the night. Hefting the packs, two at a time, over his shoulders he made his way to the staircase. Just as he stepped down into the cool, dark stairwell the emergency alarm sounded off and a thick plexiglass door lowered from the ceiling of the basement and slammed down onto the floor. The basement was now sealed.

"What the... Egon?" Peter dropped the packs on the stairs and ran up the transparent barrier. Putting his hands on the surface he peered inside and spotted Egon pressed up against the far brick wall, his face pale and body trembling. "Spengz? What's going on?"

"Stay back!" Egon cautioned as he pointed to the Geiger counter on the workbench. "My suit was breached when I was thrown by the ghost. I've been contaminated."

"What?! Are you sure?"

Egon reached for the Geiger counter and held it over his hand to scan for the umpteenth time. The counter clicked loudly in response the radiation that had saturated Egon's skin.

"I'm sure." Egon used the counter to try and locate the source but it could only detect his own body as the chief source of radioactive disturbance. "I'm going to adjust the Geiger counter to detect radiation in non-organic sources. It should be able to isolate the correct contaminate among the other radioactive sources in the vicinity."

Peter began pulling at the emergency door in a desperate attempt to pry it open. "Don't lock yourself inside! You need help!"

"I know..." Egon's legs began to buckle and he supported himself upright with one arm by pressing his weak hand against the brick wall beside him. "But I can't let you get exposed to the radiation. Until I can locate the exact source of the radiation I cannot let anyone risk their own health by coming in here."

Ray and Winston came rushing down the stairwell and stood behind Peter with wide eyes and absolute shock on their faces.

"What's going on?" Winston asked as watched Peter trying to lift the emergency door.

"Radiation." Peter answered firmly with great strain in his voice. "Egon needs-"

Ray pounded his fist on the door trying to catch Egon's attention. "Spengler! Spengler let us in!"

"I... can't..." Egon's eyes suddenly rolled up in his head as his body went limp and collapsed on the floor in an unconscious heap, the Geiger counter falling from his hand and back onto the workbench in a loud thud. Laying on his back on the cold concrete floor his arms and legs began to twitch slightly with involuntary muscle spasms. A piece of rusted metal fell free from the fabric of the torn radiation layer and slid across the floor and came to rest beside the brick wall.

"Spengler!" Ray pounded on the door even harder. "Egon!"

Peter had managed to lift the door just enough to slip underneath and get inside the quarantined basement. The door shut down with a heavy slam just behind Peter before Ray or Winston could follow him inside. Still wearing his protective radiation layer Peter was at minimal risk of exposure, but in that moment he was more concerned for Egon's health than he was for himself.

Kneeling beside Egon's prone form Peter pressed his hand down on Egon's chest and lifted one of Egon's eyelids with his other hand.

"How is he?" Winston asked from the painfully far distance.

"He's still alive." Peter sounded worried as he looked at Egon's eyes. "Get help, now!"

Winston patted Ray's shoulder once before darting back up the stairs. "I'll call 911!"

From the closed off door Ray kept talking to Peter, his voice shaking with fear and uncertainty. "How's his breathing?"

"Inconsistent." Peter admitted as he grabbed onto Egon's wrist and measured his pulse. "I'm worried he might slip into cardiac arrest."

"Oh man..." Ray took a step back from the door and began pacing as he ran both hands through his hair in frustration. "This is... How did he become exposed to radiation? Egon's smarter than that!"

Peter began checking over Egon's suit for any imperfection, any flaw or missing material when he found the torn seam at Egon's side. Pulling the torn fabric apart he estimated the whole to be the size of a golf ball. Too small to be immediately noticed in the heat of the moment, but large enough to give Egon a potentially lethal dose of an unidentified type of radiation.

"Here's your culprit." Peter showed Ray the tear in the radiation layer. "That hard hit against the wall must've popped a seam."

Winston returned to the basement with a list of instructions written out on a clipboard. "The CDC is going to be stopping by... Courtesy of the city."

"Not surprised..." Ray admitted with a queasy stomach.

"When's help getting here?" Peter asked impatiently as he kept his eyes on Egon's every movement, every twitch and every quivering breath.

"Soon. The hospital knows to prepare for a case of radiation sickness. We have to go to. Precautionary measure."

"At least we'll be able to stay with him..." Peter muttered to himself as he watched his friend's weakening body break down right in front of him. "What I'd give to trade places right now, Spengz. You'd know what to do to. How to treat radiation sickness right here in the firehouse and keep us alive. You're the brains of the outfit and you went ahead and got yourself fried..."

* * *

It was a blur of activity as an ambulance arrived alongside the CDC to the firehouse. Paramedics, who were also donning radiation resistant protection assessed Egon's condition and wheeled him into the ambulance on a gurney. The CDC ran multiple tests on the entire building, Ecto-1 and the equipment, as well as the Ghostbusters themselves, before allowing the three less critical men to journey to the hospital with Egon for a complete physical.

Egon was placed in isolation as the doctors ran multiple tests to check his system and identify the exact radiation that he had been exposed to, and thus find the proper course of treatment.

Ray was the first cleared and allowed to visit Egon's room, without actually going inside. Wearing pale green scrubs Ray stood outside the observation window to Egon's room with one hand on the glass as he leaned forward feeling helpless and useless seeing one if his best friends dying just a few feet away.

Egon was pale save for the small red irritations that had formed in patches over his skin. His glasses were folded neatly on the table beside the bed which made Egon look all the more unusual in the eyes of his friends. An oxygen mask was over his face in an effort to help him breath easier, but his breaths were still shallow and uneven. A cardiac monitor silently displayed his heart rate and a blood pressure cuff was still wrapped around his left bicep as he laid uncomfortably still in the hospital bed. Alone.

"Hang in there Egon." Ray begged as he stared through the window. "You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for."

"How is he?" Winston joined Ray at the window. Like Ray, Winston had been given scrubs to wear in lieu of his possibly contaminated clothing. Wearing a dark blue color it reminded Winston of his old marine uniform and gave him a subconscious boost in his confidence. "We're in the clear, but how about him?"

"The doctors are still trying correctly identify the radiation. Right now all they can do is basic care; preventative measures really." Ray pointed to Egon's right side and bowed his head. "They found the point of contact with the radiation. When you two were thrown against the wall his radiation suit was torn at the side."

"Aw man..." Winston put his hand to the back of his head. "And I thought I took the worst of it with the blow to the head."

"As soon as Venkman's cleared I'm going to head back to the firehouse and help isolate the radiation that the ghosts were emitting. It might be the only way to help Egon if the doctors can't find any answers in the tests."

"Good idea." Winston nodded and stared at Egon with a deep melancholy in his normally warm, kind eyes. "Peter and I will stay here with Egon. No one should be alone in the hospital."

Peter soon joined his colleagues at the window. Wearing dark red scrubs and a large white bandage on his right arm at the crook of his elbow, Peter rubbed at his sore arm and looked through the window. "No change?"

"Not yet." Ray answered while looking at Peter's arm. "What happened to you?"

"Blood tests." Peter snapped sharply. "A LOT of blood tests. Kept poking me with needles..."

Ray couldn't help but smile. "Sorry."

"No you're not." He could hear the twinge of amusement in Ray's voice and didn't appreciate it. "Do the doctors at least know what kind of radiation it is we're dealing with?"

"Not yet."

"Oh. Well. At least some things stay consistent."

"Relax Peter," Winston put his hand on Peter's shoulder and pushed him toward the short row of unoccupied chairs lined against the wall opposite the observation window. "have a seat and be patient. Ray's going to go back to the firehouse and find the answer."

"In time?" Peter instinctively asked and immediately regretted it as he saw the mixture of hurt and fear light up in both Ray and Winston's eyes. "...sorry."

"It's okay." Ray almost whispered in response. "I'll call as soon as I find anything. Uh..."

"We'll call you if there's any change." Winston knew what Ray wanted to ask but was too afraid to do so. "Go. We'll stay with Egon."

As Ray walked down the corridor Peter slowly took a seat and let out a deep sigh of exhaustion. He leaned forward, his elbows propped up against his knees, and he pressed his face into the opened palms of his hands. Rubbing at his sore, tired eyes he sat in quiet contemplation as the bizarre events of the night replayed in his mind over and over again.

"Don't think like that." Winston urged as he took a seat beside Peter.

"How do you know what I'm thinking, Zed?"

"You're not as complicated as you like to think." Winston sat back with his arms crossed and his legs planted firmly on the floor. "Besides, what else would you be thinking about right now?"

"For one; why does Ray look so good in green? And another... Why does our resident brainiac keep ending up hurt or sick in our line of work? He's not exactly daredevil material you know."

"Can't say." Winston watched Egon's unconscious form laying in the bed patiently. "Some guys just have bad luck, I guess."

"I don't believe in luck."

"What _do_ you believe in?"

"Ghosts, for one. And reason."

"Reason, huh? Like everything that happens is meant to happen regardless of what we think or feel just because some force beyond our comprehension made that decision for us?"

"No." Peter sat up and dropped his hands in his lap. "More like reason as in logic. There's no logical reason for Egon to get radiation poisoning, and yet, here we are. And that's what bugs me."

"Maybe there is a reason but you just don't know it yet."

"You're getting a little too optimistic for my taste there." He gave Winston a slightly odd glance. "Have you been reading into horoscopes and fortune cookies again?"

"Nah, just using my own personal experiences from the past to try and guide my future."

"How Zen of you. When'd you get so wise?"

"Guess it's from spending so much time with you guys." Winston laughed a little at his own comment. "Or it's from all those nights I spent studying Egon's notes about particle physics and universal harmonious alignments."

"Sounds a little preachy." Peter joked before his demeanor once again fell somber as he gazed at his best friend through the window. "Kind of wish I paid more attention."

* * *

Ray was escorted into the firehouse by the leader of the team that had been instructed to decontaminate the firehouse, only after Ray was given the same proper protective gear before entering the quarantined structure. After explaining the unusual series of events that had transpired through the night Ray showed his 'host' to the basement and the containment unit.

"This is where we store the ghosts and as you can see it meets all safety standards and parameters as instructed." Ray made sure to to identify each reading based on energy levels being kept and energy levels being emitted. "After we returned Dr. Spengler deposited the ghosts inside the containment unit and isolated the used traps for proper decontamination."

Waving his own Geiger counter over the traps the leader, Carl Madison, found the trace radiation to be well within safe limits. "Well, we can rule out these... traps as you call them, as well as your containment unit. I'm finding no dangerous levels of radiation in either piece of equipment."

"Then where did the radiation come from? Why is Egon so sick?" Ray walked over to where Egon had collapsed and stared at the blank space curiously. "His suit was torn after the ghost threw him, that _has_ to be when and where Egon became exposed. But was it at the lab that was producing the radiation to begin with?"

Carl joined Ray at the wall and ran a scan over the workbench where Egon's dropped gloves and visor rested. "Unless we can get a sample of the materials that your friend came into direct contact with it'll be difficult to-"

"Wait! That's it!" Ray's eyes went wide with eureka. "Egon had his suit torn when he was thrown by the ghost. He smashed into the metal vat that was covered in rust, so that must be when his suit was damaged. The rusty metal must be the contaminate!"

"Good theory." Carl turned to look at the engineer without even an ounce of excitement in his own eyes or voice. "Where do we locate the rusty metal?"

"Like this..." Ray took the modified Geiger counter from the workbench and scanned the ground slowly. Moving the meter up and down the floor, over the walls and near the workbench Ray waited for any sign of radiation to set off the meter. "Dr. Spengler re-calibrated this particular Geiger counter to locate radiation that is foreign to our own building AND any organic sources." Ray swept the counter back and forth but wasn't getting any reading. "Come on, there HAS to be something here. Brushing against the radiation wouldn't be enough to make him so sick, there must have been a piece that-"

The Geiger counter began clicking loudly. Ray held it over the floor and spotted a chunk of rested metal resting inconspicuously on the floor against the wall.

"There!" Ray pointed and backed away wisely. "It's there!"

Carl ran his own counter over the spot Ray motioned and got a reading as well. "Bingo!" Taking a small pair of metal tongs from a protective pouch on his suit Carl picked up the piece of metal, placed it in a sealed bag and took it up to his team for analysis. "You may have found the source of the radiation."

"Hopefully it wasn't too late..." Ray quietly stated as he stood alone in the dark basement. "Don't be too late..."

* * *

While Winston had managed to drift off into a light sleep in his chair Peter couldn't shut off his mind. All he could do was stare at Egon through the window and silently hope that somehow, in some way, Egon would find a way to recover and wake up. Returning to his place at the window Peter rested his arm against the glass and his head against his arm. Closing his eyes he tried to push the unsettling sight of Egon's sick, dying body away from his mind.

Every second that the radiation coursed through Egon's veins a cell in his body was being attacked, possibly even destroyed. If the radiation affected one of his vitals organs, or worse affected his brain, then there'd be no way for Egon to resume a normal life let alone continue his work as a Ghostbuster.

"Come on Egon, fight."

A doctor who had been treating Egon came rushing down the hallway with a nurse close behind. The nurse was carrying a metal tray with some kind of tubing protected in sterilized packaging as well as a bottle containing some kind of blue liquid. The sudden flurry of movement caught Peter's attention and he opened his eyes just in time to see the doctor and nurse walk into Egon's room and begin additional treatment on the downed physicist.

"What's going on?" Peter asked to no one in particular as the doctor began inserting a feeding tube up through Egon's nostril and down directly into his stomach. "Did... Did they find the treatment?"

Winston heard Peter speaking and immediately woke up. Joining Peter at the window Winston looked on as the doctor finished inserting the feeding tube. "Looks like they have some kind of lead to go on."

Ray practically bolted down the hallway and slid to a stop next to Winston. "Thallium..." Ray panted as he stared at Egon through the window. "Egon was... exposed to... Thallium." He put his hand on both Peter and Winston's shoulders. "The modified Geiger counter found it! It found the Thallium!"

"And that can be treated? Right?" Peter was struggling to keep himself from sounding excited or scared as he spoke.

"Yes." Ray took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Prussian blue. That's what they're giving him."

Peter and Winston stared with a sense of relief and discomfort as they watched the doctor inject a dose of the medication into the feeding tube and then watched the medicine disappear as it entered Egon's weak body.

"He's too sick to swallow the medicine on his own." Ray explained as he regained his composure. "The feeding tube is the best option until he gets enough strength back to take the medication without assistance."

"...But he will recover, right?" Peter hated himself for sounding like a scared child asking too many questions, but he couldn't stop himself.

"Time will tell," Ray admitted with a lilt of hope in his voice. "but I think he's going to be just fine."

* * *

Hours passed by slowly with Egon receiving steady doses of the lifesaving medication by the astute doctors. Peter, Ray and Winston had been given permission to enter Egon's room and took shifts sitting at his bedside.

Peter stared at Egon with his head propped up against his hand as he leaned against the edge of Egon's bed. "Come on Spengz, you've been asleep long enough. Time to wake up."

Egon's breathing had become more regular since the treatment began and his skin was already showing signs of healing. But Egon was still unconscious and unresponsive to his friends and to the doctors who tried to rouse him.

"You know, I've been thinking a lot lately about how much you do for the team and how much the team needs you. When Ray collapsed a few months ago I was petrified. When me and Winston came back to the firehouse and saw you... saw you performing CPR on him my first thought was of course, 'What happened to Ray?', but my next thought... I'm ashamed to admit this but I won't deny it either, all I could think was 'I'm glad Egon's handling it and not me.'" Peter cleared his throat as emotion began to well up in his voice. "I guess it's just a weakness of character."

"...Peter." Egon's hoarse voice responded weakly as his eyes fluttered open. "It doesn't mean you're weak. You're just human."

"Egon!" All of Peter's doubts disappeared as soon as he saw his best friend looking up at him. "You're awake!"

"I... I was foolish."

"No!" Peter refused to listen to Egon try and blame himself for what happened. "It was an accident! It could've happened to any one of us and you know that."

"...Should've check my suit. Should've-"

"Stop." Peter put his hand on Egon's arm and squeezed. "We know you're smarter than that, but as you just told me you're just human."

From the window Ray and Winston saw that Egon had woken up and was talking to Peter. Quietly they walked into the room and gave their weakened friend a relieved smile.

"Good to see you awake." Winston stood at the foot of the bed. "You scared us for a while. But Ray found exactly what it was in your system and the doctors are confident you'll make a full recovery."

"Thank you Ray." Egon tried to sit up but failed and laid back down. "For saving my life."

Ray put his hand on Egon's shoulder and shook lightly. "If it wasn't for you tweaking the Geiger counter I may not have found anything at all, until it was too late."

"See?" Peter gloated. "Told you that you're the smart one!"

"Anyway," Ray interjected calmly. "We should inform a doctor that you're awake. They'll probably want to run more tests... on _all_ of us... but it's worth it."

"You two go," Peter insisted as he remained seated beside Egon's bed. "I'll stay here."

"Thanks. I guess." Egon tried to show good humor but he was in a little too much pain to appease his friend.

Winston and Ray both laughed a little before leaving the room giving Peter and Egon some additional one-on-one time until an available doctor could check in on Egon's current condition.

Sighing Egon winced and his eyes instantly betrayed his usual mask of emotional resolve.

"How do you feel?" Peter asked as he noticed Egon's discomfort and tried to sound sympathetic.

"My stomach hurts." The weary physicist admitted knowing Peter wouldn't be fooled by any dismissive reply. "What kind of medication have I been given?"

"Prussian blue."

"Used to treat Thallium and Cesium poisoning..." Egon began mentally tallying his symptoms and connected them to radioactive Thallium poisoning. It appeared as though Ray was right. "Stomach pain is a common side effect of Prussian blue." He shut his eyes and sighed again, his entire body flinching with pain. "Among other interesting internal side effects."

"Really?" Peter was intrigued and couldn't resist prodding his friend, even in his weakened condition. "Like what?"

Egon opened his eyes again while blushing a little and gave Peter an annoyed stare. It was then he spotted the white bandage on Peter's arm. "I see you couldn't avoid the needle after all."

Peter laughed a little as he put his hand over the bandage on his arm to hide it. "You know, if I didn't know any better I'd think you set this whole thing up just to ensure I got stuck with as many needles as possible. Like some kind of deviously elaborate master plan you concocted down in your little lab at night."

"Like you said before Peter," Egon smiled a little and closed his eyes again. "I'm the brains of the team. It's entirely possible that I had done just that and there'd be no way for you to prove it."

"Oh yeah? I'll remember that the next time I need a guinea pig for one my psychology experiments." Peter joked. "A brainiac's heart."

_**-The End** _


End file.
